When Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi just over a year ago, many thought the goal of completing the first circumnavigation of the earth using a solar-powered aircraft belonged in the realms of science fiction. But the power of bold dreams being pursued with persistence and ingenuity will be demonstrated when the plane restarts its fuel-free journey next month.
The Masdar-sponsored project broke flight records with its 7,212km journey across the Pacific last July, but at the cost of battery damage that has stranded the experimental aircraft in Hawaii ever since. But thanks to continuing support for the Monaco-based team’s quest – including a Dh80.7 million set of improvements to the battery packs and in other areas – it aims to complete the journey, arriving back in Abu Dhabi in June.
A lot has changed since Solar Impulse 2 took off on March 9, 2015, but many of those changes have underscored the justification for the significant investment in this groundbreaking journey. The unexpectedly long dip in oil prices is one, even if the indications are that prices might finally have bottomed out. If there was ever going to be a time when proving the viability of using alternative energy sources seemed wise, this is it.
The world needs people who pursue bold dreams, even if their attempts encounter temporary problems – that is the nature of using pioneering technology in ways never before attempted. The principles being tested and proven by Solar Impulse 2 are likely to end up being used in ways we cannot yet envisage but that will be part of meeting the world’s future energy needs.
Equally, those who pursue those dreams – such as Solar Impulse founder Bertrand Piccard, along with Swiss co-pilot Andre Borschberg – deserve support and assistance from places like Masdar to help bring them to reality. We can expect a few more hiccups along the way, but this journey has already achieved the goal of changing notions of what solar power can achieve.
